il Giardino Romantico

注意：曼聯迷勿入！！
Warning: Man. United Fans Prohibited.
什麼！！一個號稱是當紅利物浦球隊西班牙籍前鋒 Fernando Torres 的老婆，竟然跑去敵軍戰營 Old Trafford！！有沒有搞錯啊！？沒錯！！由於晃完教堂之後，當下覺得市區好像沒其他有看頭的地方，我只好淪落到搭上Metrolink，來到的敵軍戰營Old Trafford來閒晃！不過，除了覺得這個球場的確是很壯觀之外，其餘的時間，我都在努力的隱藏我的苦瓜臉。因為要是被人家看到了，一定馬上就認出我這個『間諜』來啦！
It's true!  I admit! I went to Old Trafford! How was this possible, though, for someone who claims to be the number one fan of the Spanish striker for Liverpool, Fernando Torres, to visit such a horrible place!  Well, after seeing the cathedral, I decided that there was not much left to see in the city centre.  That is the only reason I decided to see what Old Trafford is all about!  Other than the fact that it is undeniably an impressive stadium, from the outside, there is not much more I have to say.  I spent the whole time trying to refrain myself from making funny faces at it.  After all, I didn't want to get myself into trouble.
球場附近的pub。
Pub near the stadium.
要我進去？打死我吧！
Not a chance I'm going in there!
其實我最後會想來的原因還有一個。因為我的好姊妹跟她男友是曼聯迷。因為他們有會員，所以偶爾會很幸運的買的到票來觀看球賽。因為這樣，所以想了解一下他們來看球賽時的路線。經過這次的Old Trafford之旅，才了解，居住在利物浦的曼聯迷，可真是不簡單啊。若是為了省錢坐coach，要花上一小時。到了曼城，又還要搭電車來到Old Trafford。電車到站後，又還要步行一段距離才能抵達球場。好辛苦啊！
There was actually another reason why I wanted to come to Old Trafford.  My best friend and her boyfriend are Man United fans.  They've got membership, so occasionally, they would come and watch the match here.  I wanted to see what it was like for them to come to the match.  After my trip, I realised what a hassle it had been for them.  It takes about an hour to get to Manchester on the coach.  After they arrive, they have to take the tram to Old Trafford, then walk for a while before reaching the stadium! What toil and trouble!
到了接待中心後，接待人員問我說要不要參加tour。問了之後得知tour要£12。我很想大聲叫出來說：『Anfield的tour我都還沒參加過，要我花錢參觀Old Trafford？門兒都沒有！！』不過當然是忍下來啦！畢竟也要看看我當時在誰的地盤嘛！哈哈呵呵！！*汗* 不過我還是進去Mega Store殺了一下時間。買了什麼？當！然！不！可！能！買！啦！有沒有搞錯。
When I entered the reception area, they asked me if I wanted to join the tour.  Once I found out that it cost £12, I immediately said to myself, NO WAY, JOSE! Why? C'mon! Do you even need to ask?  I haven't even done the tour for Anfield, yet!  It would be insane to spend that money for a tour in a stadium of our enemy! But I did go into the Mega Store, just to kill time.  Yes, really.  And obviously, I did not spend a pence in that horrible place. Haha.
被我惡搞的壁報。
I simply had to.
我承認，還是挺可愛的啦。
I admit, it is rather cute.
這樣的收銀台，一共有四排！
There were four rows of cashiers like this!
這大概就是我的極限了... 不能在進去了。
This was as far as I could go, and as far as I wanted to go.

Manchester Metrolink
好像沒什麼好稀奇的。不過我沒坐過這種輕鐵，所以特地花了一點小錢來體驗一下。不過這段時間去的真不巧。因為軌道處處封閉都在維修。不是想去哪裡就可以去的。至於上了電車後我搭到哪裡去哩？下篇將會揭曉。不過，大家要不要來猜猜看呢？你們絕對想不到的。呵呵。
I guess it's not that big a deal.  But seeing that I had never been on a tram, it was still an experience waiting for me to try out.  It wasn't the best time to experience the tram, as certain stops were closed down.  The places I could get to was very limited.  Speaking of that, I'd like you to see if you can guess where I went on the tram.  My guess is that you'll probably never guess it. 
車廂內部。Inside the tram.
曼撤斯特輕鐵最初建造計畫差不多在70至80年代開始。最後到了1992年七月，終於由伊麗莎白女王親自駕臨開幕儀式。整個路網在經過多次修改之後，目前約23哩長，並一共有37站。目前改造的工程其中包含了擴展到曼撤斯特機場的路線。相信完工之後會帶給當地民眾以及旅客不少旅程上的方便。
The planning of Manchester Metrolink first began in the 1970's and 80's.  The openning was finally witnessed by Elizabeth II in July, 1992. After different phases of reconstruction and expanding, the whole network runs 23 miles long, and consists of 37 stops.  The extension work currently undergoing includes a route to Manchester Airport, which would definitely save a lot of time and trouble for travelers.
整個過程還挺舒適的。車廂內清潔度也不錯。如果當時沒有某些路線被封閉的話，其實以這樣的方式來看看曼城景色也是挺不錯的呢。
The whole process was quite enjoyable.  The cars were relatively clean as well.  If it hadn't been for the closing down of a certain area, this would have been a nice way to go all around Manchester.
延伸資訊：Metrolink [官方網站]

第一眼看到這座教堂，我整個人都傻掉了。為什麼這座位於這麼繁榮城市的教堂，會這麼的不起眼？所謂不起眼的地方，當然主要是指他的大小。對於一個比利物浦還要繁榮的城市而言，主要的大教堂就這麼一間？而相較之下，利物浦這種不大又不小的港都，主要的大教堂就有兩間。這點實在令人匪夷所思。
不過上網查了資料以後才發現，原來是我有眼不識泰山。這座教堂的歷史遠遠超越利物浦的兩間大教堂。這間原名The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George in Manchester的教堂，事實上早在第八世紀就建立了。而在第二次世界大戰中，大部分慘遭德軍空襲毀損。重建工程花了約二十年才完工。1952年被正式列入Grade I of Listed Buildings。但在1996，再度慘遭愛爾蘭共和軍襲擊造成部份毀損。該教堂存有大量的歷史性資料庫。最古老的文件可追朔到十五世紀。
When I first caught sight of the cathedral, I was absolutely taken aback.  It was not because of how spectacular it was, but quite on the contrary, it was by how little the cathedral was in such an urbanised city as Manchester.  I couldn't come to figure out the reason why a medium-sized city like Liverpool would have two large-scale cathedrals, but a city as large as Manchester only had one significant cathedral.  After checking up on its history, I've decided that size isn't the only thing that mattered.
Manchester Cathedral was originally names 'The Cathdral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George in Manchester'.  It is a medieval church constructed in the 8th centry.  During the second World War, the Blitz destroyed most of the cathedral, and took twenty years for the reconstruction to complete.  In 1952, it became an official Grade I of Listed Buildings.  However, parts of it got destroyed, again, by an IRA attack in 1996.  The cathedral has an extensive archive of documents dating all the way back to the fifteenth century. 
教堂外觀 Exterior of the cathedral.
彩繪玻璃 Stained glass window
讀經室？ Prayer room?
彩繪玻璃 & 吊燈 Stained glass window and chandelier
從教堂走出來後，我發現了一件很慘的事情。那就是：我一抵達去Visitor Centre要到的地圖竟然不見了！不知道是不是在換相機電池的時候不小心鬆手丟掉的。不過反正下一站要去的地方正好也是要回到Visitor Centre附近。所以我就硬著頭皮，憑自己的方向感走回去再跟他們要一份地圖囉！
When I got out of the cathedral, I realised I had somehow lost the map I got at the Visitor Centre ealier during the day.  It must have slipped off my hand while I was changing the batteries to my camera.  But since my next destination requires me to return to that same area, I made good use of my overly developed sense of directions and headed back to get another map.
Manchester Cathedral

01
不過就是個摩天輪，台北也有、高雄也有。規模也不比倫敦之眼來的壯觀。只是既然來了，就當作是練習拍照。天氣時好時壞，也算是英國天氣的特色。瞧！這些照片中可輕易看出，往某個角度拍攝，就是灰色的天空。再換個角度拍攝，又變成了藍天白雲。
It's just an ordinary ferris wheel.  We have our own in Taipei and Kaohsiung.  It's not even worth comparing to the London Eye.  But since I'm here, I took the opportunity to brush up my photography skills, if I have any.  You'll see in these pictures, a portrayal of typical English weather.  From one angle, the azure sky provides a beautiful backdrop to the wheel, but from an other angle, the sky looks dim and miserable.
02 藍天白雲 Blue sky and cotton candy
03 天灰灰 Grey cloudy backdrop
04 半藍半灰 Half blue, half grey
05 取得全景不容易 Difficult to squeeze the whole wheel in one shot
06 躲貓貓 Playing hide and seek
     
07 離開前又放晴 The sun came out to bid me farewell
延伸資訊：
The Wheel of Manchester @ World Tourist Attraction

University of Manchester的某棟大樓。
One of the many university buildings.
什麼？從去年九月二十二日從曼撤斯特機場入境之後，我就再也沒再踏入曼城一步過了！？大家聽到都覺得有點不可思議。曼城可是大家都逛到不想再逛的地方了，我竟然只到過機場。點點點。一個人旅遊的優點很多，但是缺點就是，若是沒有動力，真的會一拖再拖。所以擇日不如撞日。我隨便選了個日子，告訴我再曼城的朋友說我那天會去。因為話一說出口，駟馬難追。這下子就真的得出發啦。
之前就有稍微看了一下火車以及coach到曼城的價錢。火車£10不到，但coach只要£6.50。既然車程不長，當然是選比較便宜的coach囉！其實說實在的，這可以說是我第一次在英國一個人坐coach呢。認識了許多新朋友之後，有的時候會習慣依賴朋友。這次曼城之旅對我來說最大的收穫不是在於看到的景色，而是除了見到老朋友之外，我那細胞裡『一個人去流浪』的慾望又再度燃起囉！
會這麼說得原因呢，其實是曼城真的跟大家口述的一樣，就是一個大城市。沒什麼特色。就連他們中國城的拱門，都沒我們利物浦的來的要大。不過最令我失望的是，這麼一座大城市的教堂，居然一點看頭都沒有。不過雖然對曼城這個城市非常的失望，但這一趟旅程還是超級有意義的囉。再怎麼說，也都是一種有趣的體驗囉！
A lot of people find it hard to believe that ever since my arrival through Manchester airport in September, 2008, I had not set foot in that city again.  It's like one of those cities where people get sick and tired of going because it's so close by.  And I had not been, yet!  There are many advantages to travelling on your own, but one of the major disadvantages is that there is way too much freedom for procrastination.  Therefore, I chose a random date, told my friend in Manchester when I'd be going, to push myself into making actual plans for the trip.
I'd taken a look at the prices, and found that the train costs around £10, whereas the coach only costs £6.50.  Since it was not a long trip, obviously I would pick the cheaper option.  In fact, this was my first coach ride on my own!  When you meet new friends, you tend to depend on them to organise everything for you.  The biggest reward from this trip, I would say, would be the fact that I've learned, once again, the fruit and joy of travelling 'solo'. 
The reason I say this, is because the city itself, turned out to be a big disappointment.  Just like everyone said, there isn't much to see.  Even the arch in China Town was significantly smaller than the one we have in Liverpool.  But the biggest disappointment is the fact that the cathedral of this urban city, could be so little!  Despite the city being a major let-down, it was, nonetheless, a meaningful journey.  After all, the experience is priceless.
隨處可見的雕像。左：Robert Peel。右：Duke of Wellington。
參見維多利亞女王。
Queen Victoria at Picadilly Gardens
中央圖書館。Central Library.
莎老頭彩繪玻璃。Stained glass window with a portrait of William Shakespeare.
Town Hall
即將展開的International Festival。
歌劇院。Opera House.
戲如人生。The play mirrors life.
John Rylands 圖書館。John Rylands Library.
介紹到這，就不得不說明一下。這個圖書館，大概是整個曼城裡面最吸引我的地方。因為他號稱收藏了許多老舊文學作品的原稿。但！是！就在我來到這，悠悠哉哉的拍完外觀踏入大門之後，櫃台的人才跟我說：我們要準備關門囉！此時我才驚覺：又是因為天一直不黑，讓我以為時間還早！害的我唯一有興趣的地方竟然看不到。不過我再想，光是這間圖書館，應該值得我為他專門在回來一趟唷！
At this point, I must say that the only site I found extremely interesting was this library.  It claims to be in possession of a lot of old manuscripts.  However, just as I walked into the entrance, after slowly taking my time in taking shots of the exterior, the receptionist told me: We're about to close!  WHAT!!??  This is yet another incident where I'm misled by the lenght of time it stays light out during the summer!  Although I had missed the opportunity to see this place, I think the library by itself is worth another visit, don't you?